I have an address...Tested and Approved!

Hello All,

I finally have an address! What can you send me? Here is a list of ideas useful for teaching:

1. Postcards (from your travels)
2. Interesting articles from magazines or newspapers that would encourage discussion in the classroom
3. Anything in English (brochures, maps, etc.)

Here is my address:

Natalie Brusseau
PO Box 27
Novoukrainka, Kirovogradska Oblast
27100
Ukraine


I've almost finished my first full week of teaching and I moved this past weekend (yes, from the apartment that I posted pictures of last week). Now, my apartment is about a 5 minute walk to school, as opposed to a 20 minute bus ride to school from my previous apartment.

Teaching is going well. I love it when I hear the bell ring to signal the end of class, I try to dismiss the students, but they insist on finishing the activity or the conversation that we are involved in. Then, of course, there are other classes, such as my 11th graders (the seniors of the school) who are "too cool" for some activities or pretend to not understand. I'll continue to work on them...

I'll try to get some pictures up soon! This weekend I am headed to Kirovograd (the capital of my oblast) for a meeting with other Peace Corps Volunteers. I'm looking forward to getting to the "big city" and spending time with other PCVs.

I hope the weather has eased up on the Northwest! The other night I was eating dinner at a family's house and, all of a sudden, they were pointing to the TV and saying, "Natasha, your state, Washington!" Sure enough, Washington was on the International news. Washington with the flooding and Ukraine with the gas issues...thankfully, both seem to be resolved.

Take care,
Natalie

I'm Here!

Ok, so I know it has been awhile since I updated my blog! Here is what I have been doing for the last couple of weeks:

Preparing for winter...yes, I was able to buy a coat (basically a sleeping bag with a zipper and the stylish fur around the hood):

My landlord is a police officer, so she invited me to the concert to honor Ukraine's police force. The girl playing the piano (on the right), Sasha, is my landlord's daughter and one of my students. Sasha speaks English very well and she has been so helpful with showing me around the community.

Another picture from the concert...love the costumes!

Each class hosts a New Years party, so I attended many of these at school (these took place December 25 and 26).

(Sasha is in the picture below - the girl in the black dress)

Sasha and I went with a school in our community on an excursion to Kyiv. Here is the New Years tree in Independence Square (I was told it is the largest New Years tree in Europe).

On our excursion in Kyiv, we also visited St. Michael's Cathedral.

Inside, Sasha and I prayed for her father's safety, who is a seamen and is away from home for months at a time.

We also went to the Great Patriotic War Museum (referring to WWII in Eastern Europe).

This memorial is is in honor of Ukrainian soldier's lives lost during the war.

The statue below overlooks the Dnipro River and represents independence and freedom for Ukraine.

Here is my apartment complex - I'm on the third floor.

And my quiet little street...

So, I was also hired as a kitty babysitter during this holiday break. Here is Mr. Pink - what a life!

Another pic of me and Mr. Pink:

Because the students are on break, sometimes I am a little bored. One thing I did during a spell of boredom was give myself bangs...anything for entertainment!

NEW YEARS 2009!

Well, I celebrated new years by going to three different parties. Then, our celebrations continued into New Years day. A group of friends took me sledding..."extreme" they told me...it sure was.

Here is a picture of Yura (it was his idea for this extreme sledding adventure) and my teaching counterpart, Olena. There were about 10-15 of us, adults and kids. They even prepared a yummy barbeque, complete with french fries, chicken, carrot salad, and fruit!

Here's a picture the "extreme" hill we were going down. You can't really tell from the picture, but horizontally in line with the water well it drops to some rocks. So, the goal when we were sledding was to navigate to the left and fly just to the left of the water well. I was fairly successfull at navigating, so...

we started putting multiple people on the sled...

Here I am walking back up from a long ride...

Again, multiple people on the sled (Yura with another English teacher I work with, Aloyna).
So, the last run down I took Aloyna and Olena (teacher's I work with) on the sled. Except, this run was not successful. When I realized we were going to crash into the water well, I stuck my legs straight out (because I thought I could stop all of our weight...yeah right) and ended up getting hurt. Now, I am bedridden with a swollen and bruised right knee and a sprained left ankle! People rushed me to a local surgeon and, of course, it was determined that I did not break anything. The impact has caused bruising up and down my legs, so I have been taking it easy the last couple of days (giving me time to update my blog!). What a welcome into 2009!

Happy New Year!

Natalie